Best Wine Pairing for Elk Pita Smash (Arayes) with Tasting Notes
winemaking style reflects her love of wild foods. Taking a minimalist, but detail-oriented
approach, Jessica strives to make balanced wines that express the unique character of
the vineyards she sources from.
Among other outdoor activities, Jessica enjoys foraging mushrooms and hunting upland
game and waterfowl, appreciating the deeper connection to the outdoors that these
pursuits bring. Dedicated to knowing the source of her food, Jessica is an avid cook
who loves pairing food and wine.
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Original Recipe by Ara Zada
Recipe Notes
This is a quick and easy dish that is perfect for a weeknight—add some tabbouleh or cucumber and tomato salad, and you’ve got a complete meal. I pulled out some Elk as well as Venison for comparison, and both were great. I slightly preferred the Elk with these particular flavors (plus I just really love Elk!). I discovered the style of pita you purchase makes a difference in how they turn out after baking. I decided to try two different brands since I don’t have a favorite. They were both fresh and tasty, but one was thin and tore easily, while the other was probably twice as thick. The thinner ones tended to get mushy and fall apart after baking, but the thicker ones held together and crisped up nicely. I also found that 20 minutes in the oven overcooked the meat. I baked another round for 10 minutes, then flipped the pita and cooked for an additional 5 minutes and found the meat was thoroughly cooked but still tender and juicy.
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Tasting Notes
Typically, I love Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon with Elk and Venison. I thought for sure the best pairing would be a red wine, so I only took photos of the finished dish with a glass of red wine! The cumin and lemon juice in the meat as well as yogurt dipping sauce threw me off a bit and proved harder to pair with wine. But I am always up for a challenge, so I pulled out 14 different Passalacqua wines to see which one could stand up to the citrus flavor, while accentuating the robust meat flavor. It was a surprise to me, but the clear winner was our Sauvignon Blanc. The crisp freshness of the wine perfectly complemented the lemon and tangy yogurt and added a brightness to the whole dish. The pita pockets dipped in the sauce punched up the brightness and tropical aromatics in the wine without taking over the palate. Together these two make for a meal that is perfect on a warm summer evening.
The runner up was our PQZ Zinfandel. It is a very versatile pairing wine, and good with this dish if you want red wine instead of white. The Zinfandel was able to stand up to the yogurt dipping sauce while accentuating the meat flavors. The black fruit in the wine, and richness on the palate were accentuated by the pairing.
